The Quest of Rose Red
by tulip meadow
Summary: Sequel to The Family's not Full. Mustardseed and Red have gone missing, the Scarlet Hand finds the continent of Atlantis, the Grimms are captured. Young Rose Red escapes from a humans' shelter and searches for her parents... Contains crossover elements.
1. At The Shelter

**This is the sequel I promised! The point of view (as far as I predict) is going to be Rose Red's. No, it's not the Rose Red from the Grimms' fairy tale you're thinking of…**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1. At The Shelter<strong>

Name: Rose Red Hood. Age: fifteen. Health: good, but with occasional problems. Occupation: student. Parents: Robert and Marian Hood. Homeland: the United Kingdom.

That's written about me in our school, in President Glanret's journal, and in my passport. Everything is clear. I'm a human, born in the midst of war. My father is a lawyer. My mother is a weaver. I have two elder brothers: Sidney, age eighteen, and Laurence, age sixteen.

That's what everyone in the Alpine Shelter thinks. That's what Marian and Robin made up to keep us all safe. What are the real facts?

I'm an Everafter, an adopted daughter of Robin and Marian Hood, and my biological parents are Prince Mustardseed and Princess Red of Faerie. I've never met them – I mean I haven't met them since I was several months old.

I was born in Ferryport Landing, the main battlefield of the war between humanity and the Scarlet Hand. When I was a baby, I was diagnosed with some dangerous syndrome, and the doctors advised my mother to leave Ferryport Landing for a while and go to someplace where the climate is more healthy.

The barrier that kept Everafters in Ferryport Landing had been blown up long ago, so my parents, the Hoods, and some other warriors left America for the Alps.

But when I was six months old, an enormous battle occurred in Atlantic Ocean. The humans managed to get the Western Europe to themselves and organized several shelters there. The Alpine Shelter was one of these safe havens.

The ocean, though, was blocked by the Hand's fleet. My parents, along with everyone except the Hoods, were reported missing in the Atlantic Battle, so we had no choice but to stay where we were – on a humans' territory.

There was one problem with it. Humans didn't want the Scarlet Hand to send spies into the shelters, so they forbade any Everafters to stay there.

Fortunately, Robin, Marian, their sons and I look exactly like humans. We were able to convince everyone in our human origins. Robin only had to call himself Robert, because the name of Robin Hood would have been too outstanding.

So, I live in the Alpine Shelter, go to school, and plan to become a pilot. I chose the profession myself! I want to fly over the Atlantic and find my real parents. I always miss them, despite Robin and Marian are very kind to me…

In fact, the day that changed my life was the first day of September, when I first went to the Air College.

The Air College, as Glanret, the Shelter's President, called it, was a high school where we learned everything about air. There were future pilots, air rocket launchers, spies who would carry poisonous gases to the Hand's bases… I went to the pilots' class, of course.

The college was several blocks away from our house. I walked there with Laurence, Robin and Marian's youngest son. He was going to be a pilot as well.

"Nervous, Rosie?" he asked, when we left our apartment.

"Sure," I sighed. "What if someone discovers we're not human?"

"What?" Laurence laughed. "We look just like them. No one's going to suspect a thing."

"Anyway, I'll often call you 'big brother' in public," I insisted. "And don't look so shocked about it."

"Oh," cringed Laurence. "Fine. Are we going home after school?"

"Yes, someone has to stay there. There have been several robberies in the shelter recently."

"Isn't Sidney supposed to be at home?"

"He went hiking into the Alps with his girl," I said in a theatrical whisper. "Haven't you heard it yet? He has a human girlfriend, Esther, that Swedish blonde who works at the Red Cross."

"Oh my," Laurence rolled his eyes. "I should have noticed Sidney's sighs and stupid smiles recently. He's so set on finding a wife…"

He never had a chance to finish the sentence, because my mobile phone rang.

"Yes?" I answered.

"Rose, turn to the harbor – quickly! Take Laurie with you! There's no time! We have to leave the shelter urgently!" Marian cried.

"How?.. Why?.. And what about Sidney?"

"What about Sidney?"

"He's away in the mountains – with Esther Oscarsson!"

Marian grew silent. Robin's voice interrupted us:

"We'll find him – we are leaving by plane! You two, just get to the harbor – NOW!"

When Robin gave a real order, we understood it immediately. We threw our bags on the ground and ran to the harbor.

The harbor of the Alpine Shelter was small, because the river was very narrow. We passed the yachts, used for cruising, and the motor boats, used for fighting. We were running by _The Seashell _café, just about to approach a big silvery plane parked in a distance, when suddenly someone grabbed my hand and pulled me into the café's door labeled STAFF ONLY.


	2. The Melody of Seashells

**Chapter 2. The Melody of Seashells**

"Help!" I screamed. I saw Laurence rushing to me, but my captor threw me inside the dark room. I barely knew what was happening, until the lights were suddenly switched on.

I was sitting on a couch in a small kitchen. Laurence was standing at the door, totally confused.

We turned to look at our captor. It was a young fair-haired man, no more than twenty years old, with dark green eyes, dressed in a long leather coat.

"What the… Who are you?" Laurence demanded.

"Captain Andrew Charming at your service, Mr. Hood and Princess Rose," the man smiled. "I was told by Robin Hood to take care of you."

"Charming?" I raised an eyebrow. "Not a relation of Prince Charming's from Ferryport Landing?"

"His only son and heir," Andrew nodded. "I was on a mission of finding a path for our fleet in the ocean, when Robin Hood's Boeing landed (or should I say oceaned?) near my ship. Robin and Marian told me to bring you, Laurence and Sidney to America as soon as possible. Then they left the plane and continued their journey aboard their flying carpet."

"How can you prove your story?" Laurence asked suspiciously.

"Well, we are not in a Hollywood detective movie where everything ends up proved," the captain laughed. "But, first, no one in this shelter knows you're Everafters and that you are not in fact related to Rose. Second, no one in this shelter knows where Prince Charming lives. Third, you're soon going to meet my sister Ellen, and she's the exact copy of our mother Snow White – you've seen her photographs. Fourth, if you want me to show you a passport, a driving license, a birth certificate and whatever else, you can stay here. Ellen and I are leaving for America."

"Well, we'll better stay here than go anywhere with a stranger!" I exclaimed.

"Everyone can make up a story similar to yours!" Laurence added.

"Oh really, _Laurie?_" Andrew said sarcastically. Laurence clenched his fists. He hated it when anyone but Marian called him Laurie: he thought the nickname was "girlish, sentimental and stupid".

"Why do we have to leave? And why did Mom and Dad leave without us?" Laurence murmured.

"I don't know," Andrew said. "Some merman from the Scarlet Hand broke our radar and stole our mobile phones, and Robin and Marian didn't explain anything."

Laurence and I exchanged glances. We still didn't fully believe the man, but it seemed we had little choice.

I don't know what would have happened, hadn't the murmuring radio in the corner of the room suddenly shouted:

"Attention, dear citizens! There were two Everafter spies tracked down in our shelter. The cameras on the ships and on the walls of _The Seashells _café in the harbor have helped to identify the suspects with fair certainty. They are people claiming to be Laurence Hood and Rose Red Hood, both Air College freshman students. If you see any trace of them, report it to the President immediately…"

Andrew rushed to the door, closed and locked it.

"Ellen!" he called.

A black-haired girl about my age in a green dress and an apron ran into the room.

"Plizdtomityou," she said to us hurriedly and threw several golden and white seashells out of her pockets.

"What's this for?" I exclaimed, eyeing the seashells.

"These seashells are from the Island of Sirens. Their music is hypnotizing," Andrew said, opening the shells. "They play a tune only for ten minutes, but this is all the time we need to get away from here."

Ellen handed us all pieces of wool and wax.

"Put them into your ears," she instructed us. "Else you'll be hypnotized as well."

We obeyed. Andrew and Ellen put the wool into their ears too, and it wasn't too late: I vaguely heard a beautiful musical tune, and everything around us seemed to turn sleepy. The flies and the window, the people on the ships outside, even the trees and flowers.

"Come on," Andrew gestured to the door. We ran out, and Andrew pulled us in the direction of the silvery plane we saw earlier.

"Everyone out of the plane!" Ellen shouted as we approached it.

A pilot and several stewards, all looking like drunkards or sleepwalkers, walked down the ladder. We walked up the ladder instead.

"I've taken piloting courses in summer, when I was preparing for the Air College," I informed Andrew and Ellen.

"Good, you'll be my co-pilot," Andrew smiled.

Ellen closed the door. Andrew and I took the pilots' seats, and Laurence and Ellen sat on the floor.

"Why are we boarding the plane?" Laurence asked. "I thought we were going to your watercraft."

"The watercraft is naturally near the shore of France, many hundred miles away," Andrew explained. "Prepare for the takeoff, ladies and gentlemen."

Before I knew it, we dived into the blue sky. I felt as if my body was made of lead.

"Naturally – we took off too fast…" I automatically thought.

The plane made an elegant turn. I glanced at the screen that showed our course.

_The Alpine Shelter – Snowy Wave_ was sparkling on the screen.

"Snowy Wave?" I asked.

"Code name for the small area of the Atlantic we managed to grab from the Hand," Andrew said. "I was actually trying to figure out how to expand it into a path across the ocean. But now we'll have to search for the path by ourselves."

"How did you get here from Ferryport Landing?" Laurence wondered, still a little suspicious.

"Through the whole continents of North America and Eurasia," Andrew said. "I've been around here with Ellen for two years. Ellen went to primary school in the Parisian Shelter as a human girl Ellen Blake, and I was doing espionage. Until – well, your parents told me about you. Oh, by the way, be ready for a bit frightening turn of the plane…"

The plane's nose suddenly pointed down, and instead of rising we started falling to the ground.


	3. The Crash

**Chapter 3. The Crash**

"It's wonderful," whispered Esther Oscarsson, looking down. She had just climbed a snowy rock, and now she was gazing at the panorama of the Swiss Alps in front of her.

"I'm glad you liked my surprise for your birthday," Sidney Hood said simply, looking at her admiringly. "Want to take that mountain over there?"

"No, let's rest here for a bit," Esther smiled. "And make our bags a little lighter by eating the sandwiches."

"R-right," Sidney looked embarrassed. "Esther, eh, can I ask you something?"

Esther's eyes lit up with anticipation. They have been dating for several months, and she was already waiting for the… well, the Great Question.

"Can you keep a secret?"

"What?" the girl's mouth almost fell open in disappointment. "Oh. I mean – yes, I can. Especially your secret, Sid. What is it?"

"Esther, I'm…" Sidney swallowed and coughed but then continued. "I'm an Everafter. I'm the eldest son of Robin Hood. But I'm not in the Scarlet Hand! You know that not all of us are in the Hand… Oh, Esther, I'm sorry…"

"That's all right," Esther chuckled. "I actually often dreamed of meeting an Everafter. And, by the way, I doubt that a Scarlet-Hander would date a human."

"Quite right," Sidney sighed with relief and kissed the girl on the cheek.

"Any more questions?" Esther asked.

"Not yet."

"Then let's have a little picnic, shall we?"

The couple was just about to open their rucksacks, when they heard an engine roaring.

"Look! A plane!" Sidney exclaimed, pointing up. Esther screamed with fear: the plane was obviously flying straight to them. It made a deep dive right to their rock, its door opened, and Sidney and Esther were pulled inside by several hands.

Rose Red's POV

Poor Sidney was scared half to death, though he pretended to look brave – to impress his girl, that blonde, who was hiding behind him and trembling.

When he finally recognized us, he shouted:

"Where are your heads? Esther almost had a heart attack! What happened?"

"Our heads are probably here, Sidney," Andrew said as the plane rose back into the sky again. "Your parents left the shelter for Ferryport Landing and ordered me to bring you there as well. They said it's an emergency."

"Andrew Charming!" Sidney exclaimed. "Well! It's just the kind of joke you would do – appear out of the blue and kidnap us in a plane without explaining a thing!"

"You know each other?" Laurence was dazzled.

"Well, we last met when I was three years old and he was five, but we had a lot of fights back then, so I remember him perfectly," Sidney said. "Don't forget that when I was born, Buzzflower gave me the gift of phenomenal memory."

"Goodness!" Esther cried. "Are we going to America?"

"Not exactly," Ellen corrected. "We are going to the coast of France, where our ship is floating. On the ship, we'll go to America."

"Then what do I have to do with all this? Sidney, is it part of the surprise you planned?"

"Dear, of course not!" Sidney cried, shooting us hateful glances. "I have no idea of what's going on!"

"Maybe we can land in the shelter for a minute and leave you there," I offered.

"No, we can't!" Andrew snapped. "The shelter is probably turned upside down because of us. If we land there, we'll end up in jail. And if you wish for it, I certainly don't!"

"What we can do now is try to contact our Ferryport Landing base," suggested Ellen. "We can find out what happened. The plane is undamaged, we have the radio…"

"That's just what I'm doing now," Andrew said, putting on headphones. "Rose, navigate the plane while I'm calling them."

I obeyed. Soon he was speaking:

"Fort Charming base, it's Andrew Charming. What happened? Is there a new trouble?"

"Oh, indeed!" a woman's silvery voice echoed from the headphones.

"Mom! What is it? You sound scared to death!"

"The Grimms… They are… They are captured! All of them, even including Puck and Canis!" Snow White cried.

"How?"

"We don't know! They just disappeared from their cabin! In the evening, all of them were there. The next morning, there was no one in there, but the walls were covered in scarlet handprints!"

"That means we have a spy in the fort!"

"We figured that out! That's why we're calling all free Everafters to come to the fort!"

"We'll try to help, Mom," Andrew assured her. "We're on our way."

"Oh, but you need three weeks at least to cross the Atlantic! If only Calendula hadn't gone missing along with Mustardseed and Red, she could teleport you…"

"If Calendula hadn't gone missing, she could track down the Grimms and teleport them back. Now, Mom, we mustn't focus on the past, but on the present. Except for the Grimms' disappearance, how are all the things going in the fort?"

"Oh, well, they could have been worse," Snow White said softly. "Many lives are lost. But Billy, Seven and the rest of the commanders are alive and well. And how are you and Ellen? You haven't called us for such a long time."

"A Scarlet-Hander destroyed our mobile phones and most of the machinery of the ship. Sorry. But we're both fine."

An ear-piercing siren was heard from the headphones.

"Oh, another hobgoblin group is attacking us," Snow said. "Bye, Andrew. Take care of yourself and the rest of your group."

"Goodbye, Mom, good luck…"

Andrew took off the headphones:

"Have you heard what Mom said?"

"Yes," I said. "So we're going to search for the Grimms?"

"It appears so," Sidney sighed. "I hope Mom and Dad – our Mom and Dad, I mean – will get to the fort safely."

"Please, somebody, explain this to me!" Esther begged. "I didn't understand the word of it."

You see, humans in the shelters aren't told about the many details of the war. They know only about the evil Everafters' Scarlet Hand that wants to terrorize them, but they don't know Ferryport Landing, the Grimms, Calendula (my aunt, a great sorceress), Fort Charming and anything else.

Sidney explained – as briefly as possible. Esther sighed.

"Well, it seems I can't go back… But I can be useful to you. I'm a nurse, after all."

"I hope we won't need you until we get to the fort," Laurence said.

Just then, we noticed another plane in a distance in front of us. It had red handprint signs on either of its wings.

"We're on a plane for passengers," Ellen whispered. "It's not a war plane… We have no rockets and no spells…"

The Scarlet Hand's aircraft maneuvered to us. Andrew made an abrupt turn, so the spell fired from the enemy plane missed us.

But the Scarlet-Handers weren't discouraged. They flew to us again, yet Andrew and I threw our plane two miles down just in time. Another spells from them missed the target.

We had successfully escaped from them many times, until I saw a red lamp lighting up on the control panel and heard a beeping sound.

"We're out of fuel," I realized.

Andrew saw it too, so he threw the plane as close to the ground as possible. But it was noticed by the Scarlet-Hander who fired another spell at us, and now they didn't miss. Andrew cried and fell on the floor half-unconscious.

"It's a weakness spell, their favorite," Ellen cried, gripping her brother's hand. "Fortunately, when fired from far away, it becomes weaker itself, so it's not lethal now. But he'll be weak as a baby for an hour."

"Rose… there's a lake down there… drive the plane to it…" Andrew whispered.

I jumped to the pilot seat and did as I was told. The blue sparkling surface rushed to us. I didn't know much about landing on water, only some basic information about it. But the plane was somehow, with the assistance of Laurence and Sidney, balanced; and it literally fell onto the lake with a huge splash.

Ellen and Esther applauded.

"Let's wait now," Sidney said. "They'll think we're dead."

"Won't they try to get the plane to themselves?" I asked.

"I doubt it," Laurence said. "It's a passenger plane, not a very good one, and also it's out of fuel. Plus, I think it was not a real pursuit plane we encountered. It was probably something like a patrol. Anyway, when it leaves – it's now hovering above us – we'll get out of here."


	4. The Woman in the Crystal Coffin

**Thanks for the review! I try to update fast!**

**Chapter 4. The Woman in the Crystal Coffin**

We had been sitting in the plane for twenty minutes, when Esther finally said:

"It's gone! At least, I can't see it."

"Alright," Sidney said. "Now, I see we landed just near the island. It's only several yards away from the emergency exit in the middle of the plane."

"Should we swim to it?" Ellen asked.

"No, better not. I think we can construct a temporary bridge of the life vests. There are two hundred vests, if not more, under the passenger seats. And we'll be able to carry Andrew to the land – he still can't move."

We went into the passenger saloon and took the life vests from under the seats. Sidney and Esther tied the vest together with the rope they used for climbing. Soon we were ready with a six-yard long elegant bright yellow "bridge".

Laurence opened the emergency exit, and I threw the bridge out. It was just long enough to connect the plane with a sandy beach of a small island.

Laurence and Sidney carried Andrew to the shore, and then held the bridge firmly so that we could walk across it safely. I was the last to leave the plane – as I had landed it, I considered myself a temporary captain.

We sat on the sand, eating Sidney and Esther's sandwiches and waiting for Andrew to get up.

"Where can we be?" Ellen thought aloud.

"Somewhere in France, probably," I said.

"This place smells of magic," Ellen said. "That's why I asked."

"Well, at least nothing is threatening here as for now," Esther shrugged. "When Andrew's spell's time ends, we'll maybe explore this island."

"Yes, perhaps we can even find help here," nodded Sidney.

We waited for another twenty minutes. I was glad we could have a little rest after the terrible flight. I was still trembling from all the nerves.

Finally, Andrew slowly stood up:

"Thank you for landing us," he smiled at me. "Now, where are we?"

"We're just thinking of it," Laurence said.

We looked around. A rather high rock was situated in the middle of the island, surrounded by a few bushes and a beach. In the rock there was a cave that looked quite deep.

"It smells of magic," Ellen insisted.

"Oh, I think I know where we are…" Andrew said slowly. "Let's get into that cave and check if I'm right."

We went to the cave and looked inside it. It wasn't as deep as it seemed, in fact, it was very small. But it wasn't the strangest thing about it. There was something that looked like a crystal coffin, chained by gold chains to the walls of the cave and hanging in the middle of it!

"Yes, it is just what I thought," Andrew said triumphantly. "The Cave of the Crystal Coffin. It was described in Alexander Pushkin's version of _Snow White_. The coffin is where the sleeping princess was kept."

"_Was_ kept?" Esther asked as she went closer to the coffin. "Look! There is a woman lying in there!"

We all rushed to her. Indeed, there was a pretty golden-haired woman of about thirty years old lying in the coffin, sleeping peacefully.

"It's not a princess from a fairytale!" Andrew laughed. "She's dressed in modern clothes."

The woman was actually wearing a bluish military uniform – the uniform of the soldiers of Fort Charming.

"Wait a minute!" Sidney exclaimed. "If my memory is right – and it's never wrong – it must be Calendula, who disappeared shortly before your birth, Rose, and she's your aunt!"

"Wow!" I cried. Robin and Marian told me a lot about Calendula, Mom's foster sister, a fairy. She was known as a kind brave woman and a mighty Everafter.

I looked at Andrew. Sidney and Esther looked at Andrew. Laurence looked at Andrew. Ellen coughed tactfully. Andrew looked back at us suspiciously:

"Why are you all staring at me?"

"Uh, well, maybe you'll follow your father's footsteps?" Laurence suggested. Andrew blushed:

"Are you telling me I must kiss a strange woman, ten years my senior?"

"We don't have a choice, you know, big brother," Ellen said. "We mustn't just leave her here."

"Well, then, let one of you guys do it," Andrew gestured to Sidney and Laurence. Esther watched Sidney jealously. Sidney turned to the exit from the cave. Laurence hid behind me. The situation began to look pretty bad. Suddenly, I had an idea:

"Hey! Does it always have to be a kiss on the lips?"

Everyone's eyes went wide. It was a simple idea, and no one had thought of that before. Andrew looked at me gratefully. I continued:

"In the 19th century, actually, kissing a woman's hand when meeting her was a common rule of good behavior."

Andrew nodded, relieved. He took Calendula's hand and lightly touched it with his lips. We looked at the woman's face hopefully. My plan worked! Calendula yawned and opened her eyes. Her peaceful smile was replaced with shock:

"Prince Charming Junior? It can't be… Oh goodness, how many years have I missed?"

"About fifteen years," Andrew said gently. "Meet your niece Rose Red."

I stepped forward, feeling both happy and awkward:

"Hi, Aunt Calendula."

Calendula stood up. Sidney, Laurence, Esther and Ellen introduced themselves too, and I told the story of our lives and adventures. Calendula hold back tears:

"Oh, I don't know what I'll do with the Hand! Fifteen years lost! Red, Mustardseed, and the Grimms disappeared! You, Rose, poor dear, living without any blood relations by your side!"

"How were you captured?" Laurence wanted to know.

"Oh, it was pure psychology! My father, Demetrius, came to the fort while I was on duty of guarding it. He imitated pity and remorse, I was let off guard, and – well – he just forcefully fed me with a poisoned apple when I least expected it. The next thing I know is being woken up in here."

"How treacherous!" Andrew cried.

"Why would they spellbind you when your powers are needed by the Hand?" I asked.

"I don't know. Maybe it's because I was not a toddler anymore. I could control my powers and I knew which side of the war I was on."

"By the way," interrupted Ellen, "you can track people down, can't you? Why don't you try to find where the Grimms and Rose's parents are kept?"

**Cliffhanger. To be continued.**

**For those who don't know: Alexander Pushkin had created a lyrical version of Snow White, called The Tale of the Dead Princess and the Seven Knights. In this poem, after eating the poisoned apple and falling into the enchanted sleep, the princess was kept in a crystal coffin in a cave where even the Sun and the Moon couldn't see her.**


	5. Captured

**Chapter 5. Captured**

Calendula concentrated:

"I think the Grimms are located in New York… no, somewhere in California… it's blurry… I don't feel able to track them…" she finished tearfully.

"What if the Scarlet Hand took your powers away?" I cried.

"N-n-no… At least, I hope not…"

"Try teleporting things," Ellen suggested. "This stone, for example. Transfer it into your hand," she picked up a grey cobblestone. Calendula looked straight at it and frowned. Finally, as if unwillingly, the stone faded. It immediately appeared in midair, halfway between Ellen and Calendula. Calendula looked at it again, but it fell on the ground with a thud. The following efforts of Calendula resulted only in the stone spinning slowly and crawling to and fro like a crazy turtle.

"Maybe it's just a temporary side effect of the poisoned apple," I said hopefully.

"When will the effect end?" Laurence asked.

"I d-don't know," Calendula whispered. "There are no records of powerful magicians being put under sleeping spells."

"Wait!" Andrew said. "Dad told me that Puck – you know, Rose, your mischievous uncle – has once eaten a poisoned apple accidentally. He isn't incredibly powerful, but he still has some magical abilities. Well, he was alright with them after being woken up."

"But he had been under the spell only for several hours," sighed Calendula. "I have overslept fifteen years. There's quite a difference."

"So, what are we going to do now?" Esther broke the silence that followed Calendula's words.

"I don't know," all of us except for Sidney replied in unison. Sidney wanted to impress his girl – especially since she still spoke a bit coldly to him because of their sudden adventure. So he frowned and looked like he was in deep thoughts. After several minutes he exclaimed:

"Of course! Why haven't we thought of it before?"

"Of what?" I wondered.

"We have flown in the west direction. Now, we must be somewhere in France – or maybe in Spain, but it's not highly possible. Well, then, why, may I ask, did we find an island from a _Russian _fairytale?"

"You think the Scarlet Hand has somehow blended space?" Esther asked, fascinated. Sidney's face immediately lit up:

"There's no other explanation. How and why can one carry the whole island several thousand miles west without using magic and for no obvious reasons?"

"Perhaps you're right," Calendula said. "But what's the point?"

"The point is that we can be a lot closer to Ferryport Landing that we think! What if it's now several miles away from us?"

"Oh my," Laurence said. "And what if Fort Charming is cut in two after the blending?"

"Anyway," Andrew sighed. "These discussions don't help us very much. Since Miss Calendula is weakened and none of us has magical abilities, we can't walk on foot across the lake. That's why we'll have to stay on this island until at least Miss Calendula's better."

"But time doesn't wait for us!" I cried. "Do you want to sit here when our friends are searching for the Grimms?"

"Oh, I see! _You_ want to try walking on water or driving the piece of iron that has once been a plane!" Andrew said sarcastically.

"Well, trying something is better than doing nothing!" I snapped.

"I'm doing nothing? You think you could escape that shelter by yourselves? You think you could manage to do the awful aerobatics to avoid the Hand's spells when you haven't even started Air College?"

"So it wasn't me who landed the plane on the lake while you were helpless?" I returned the "favor".

"If I hadn't commanded so, you wouldn't have noticed that lake!" Andrew smiled proudly.

"Andrew! Rose! Stop it!" Esther pleaded. "Don't waste our nerves on your stupid quarrels! We may need the nerves soon…"

"She's quite right," an unknown voice said from the cave's entrance. Startled, we all turned to look at the stranger.

He was a red-haired tall man, dressed in black, with a flail in his hand. Behind his back about two dozen fairies, dressed in black armor, were standing with drawn swords.

"Prince Atticus?" Andrew exclaimed. "Didn't you die in a battle years ago?"

"Of course not," the man laughed. "I faked my death and went into hiding. When the whole world was overwhelmed by war and the laws and rule disappeared I found this island and teleported it from Russia to France, completely unnoticed. The island itself is very cozy, and I want to be near the Atlantic – that's why I brought it here. When I saw your plane coming here, I quickly brought Calendula from one of the Scarlet Hand's prisons to this island, so that I could catch all of you."

"What are you planning to do?" I cried.

"I'm planning to hire Calendula to help me with overpowering both the Hand and Charming's army," Atticus explained pleasantly.

"But why capture the rest of us?" Calendula asked. "You'd better set everyone but me free – neither of these people has big powers."

"That's my point," Atticus said. "If you disobey me, your friends and relatives will die."

"What?" all of us cried.

Atticus's fairies ran into the cave and handcuffed all of us. Calendula tried to throw them away, but she only managed to push some of them to the cave's entrance. She was still weak.

"You may rest a little," Atticus allowed. "Until Calendula's powers return, I won't need her."

All of us except for Calendula were dragged into the bushes that surrounded the mountains. Then the fairies blindfolded our eyes and threw us onto something hardwood. I groaned.

"You – you – and you, guard them!" Atticus commanded. I heard the sound of some door being shut. Then, it was just silence.

Someone's hand took mine.

"Rose, are you all right?" the hand's owner said in such a low whisper that I couldn't tell who it was.

"I think yes," I mouthed back. "I probably have some bruises after falling on this floor, but nothing serious for now."

"I've asked everyone else – no one's hurt, thankfully," the person whispered back. "Rose… I'm sorry for snapping at you in the cave."

I understood it was Andrew.

"That's alright," I faintly smiled.

"Listen," he whispered. "I have some gold cash with me, and also some jewels of Ellen's. I think that if… when the guards' commander leaves, I'll try to bribe these guards so that they would let us go. I noticed some speedboats near the shore when being dragged here. We'll be able to escape by boat. When Atticus notices that, we'll be far away."

"But Aunt Calendula's not kept here! We can't leave her!" I argued.

"Be reasonable. We're captured to make Calendula obey Atticus. If we vanish, your aunt will at least blow his whole military base up. You know she's powerful."

"If she doesn't recover by the time we escape, Atticus will kill her!"

"Oh no. He probably won't see our escape coming. He'll think we're somewhere on the island. While he'll be searching for us in the neighborhood, Calendula's powers will be one hundred percent restored."

"OK," I sighed.

"Now, get some sleep. We'll have to run all day long to escape from Atticus, so that can be your last rest in several days."

"Fine," I thought for a while and whispered:

"I can't imagine Robin and Marian receiving the news of their children's death…"

"We'll make it," Andrew squeezed my hand. "Soon you'll be home with Laurence, Sidney and Esther, alive and well. I've agreed to take care of you, after all. And I'm not just anyone, I'm an Air Force captain who has officially been in the army since fourteen. I'll bring you to Fort Charming, Rose, I promise."

"Thank you," I whispered.

Despite Andrew's advice, I tried to stay awake, but soon my head felt heavy, I closed my eyes, and drifted into sleep.


	6. Meeting Avril

**To PenguinLoverGurl: yes, Esther knows everything – in Chapter 3 Sidney told her about the Grimms' adventures. As for the Grimms themselves… wait and see!**

**Chapter 6. Meeting Avril**

Everyone was woken up by a child's loud voice:

"Get up! Quick!"

The blindfold was pulled off my eyes. I saw a girl of about ten years old bending over me. She had auburn hair, brown eyes and rosy complexion – she didn't look like anyone I knew.

"Who are you?" Andrew asked.

"Avril, Atticus's daughter," the girl said. "I'll help you to get out of here, if you help me to get to New York Neutral Shelter. My mother lives there."

"Wait a minute," I said as Andrew helped me to stand up. "Is Atticus married?"

"He was once," shrugged Andrew. "To your namesake, the famous Rose Red. Don't you remember? Snow White married the prince and Rose Red married his brother…"

"Yes, Rose Red is Mom's name," Avril nodded.

"That's it," Andrew said. "Only the whole thing's quite confusing. Not as simple as the Grimms had written. After the end of 'Snow White and Rose Red', my father chose Mom as his bride. He arranged that Rose Red, who was always considered less beautiful, would marry Atticus.

"Rose Red, who hadn't even dared to dream of marrying a man of royal blood before, agreed happily and was wed to Atticus. But Mom said she'd wait for a while to get acquainted with Dad a bit closer. She promised to marry him in a year.

"But two months later, Mom's mother died and Queen Bunny Lancaster adopted her."

Andrew paused.

"And what happened next?" Laurence asked.

"In the first, tragic version of 'Snow White', Bunny wanted Mom to be her constant servant, so she sent a sickness to Dad, so that he wouldn't be able to visit his bride. But Dad wanted to send Mom flowers and love letters at least, and he urged Atticus to be the 'postman'.

"It was a coincidence that Atticus hadn't seen Mom before. When he brought her Dad's gifts, he himself fell in love with her. But it wasn't real love, you know – just a passion. Five months later, he threw his own wife and their prematurely-born daughter out into the streets, killed his brother in cold blood and went to kidnap Mom and marry her at any cost.

"By the time, the Wicked Queen had grown jealous of Mom's looks, sent her into the woods where she met the dwarves, and finally gave her the poisoned apple. Atticus tried to wake Mom up, but his kiss didn't work – as I've said, he didn't truly love her. So he bribed the Queen, who managed to wake Mom up without a true love's kiss, but Mom wasn't awoken completely. She turned into someone like a zombie who was conscious only at night. In daylight she was just a quiet lunatic who obeyed all Atticus's orders.

"One night in the 20th century, she ran away to the Book of Everafter and changed her story. Atticus was imprisoned behind the Book's margins and Rose Red and Avril were allowed to get out of the Book. As I see, Rose Red's settled in America. But how could you, Avril, end up here?"

"Years ago, Dad took me from my boarding school. He brought me here and forbade me to grow up," Avril explained sadly. "Please, take me with you to America! I'm afraid of staying here! He says he'll wipe my memory away and make me a slave, just as he did with the Grimms!"

"But the Hand captured the Grimms!" Sidney said.

"No, Dad's servants deliberately left red handprints in the Grimms' cabin to lead everyone on the false trace."

"Well, then, where are the Grimms?" I wanted to know.

"In another world. It's dreadfully scary… oh, I'll show you how to get there!" Avril said. "Just let's leave now! I gave the guards some wine with sleeping draught, but it's not forever!"

We quickly left the shack and ran to one of the speedboats Andrew had noticed before. Sidney started the engine, and soon we were several hundred yards away from Atticus's evil island. I still felt guilty of leaving Calendula there, but – well, Andrew seemed to be right. She could escape by herself.

Esther treated our bruises, as Avril was talking – with me and Ellen mostly, possibly because we were the youngest of the group and she was afraid of adults. She was a ten-year-old in appearance, yet her father's horrible treatment of her resulted in her mind degrading, and sometimes she seemed a six-year-old. But she was a clever and serious girl by her nature.

"Oh, I'm so afraid of that another world – where the Grimms are kept!" she whispered. "Actually, you know why I hurried to run away so much?"

"I don't have any idea. Why did you hurry?"

"Dad said that someone from that world – I don't remember who – demanded a lot of money for hiding the Grimms. And he said – to me, I mean, not to that person – that I must grow up to the age of sixteen, and that he'll send me to that world instead of the money. I was so awfully scared! I don't want to grow up so fast – I'll behave like a child, and people will laugh at me! And I don't at all want to live in that world! That's why I'll go with you."

I mentally cursed Atticus. It seemed that despite he took care of his daughter for many years, he didn't _really _care for her. A man who could in fact sell his own daughter just to keep the money! I shuddered.

"Thank goodness Avril doesn't know what would have happened to her if she didn't run away," Laurence whispered to me.

We reached the shore of the lake, when, suddenly, the space vibrated and Calendula appeared near us.

"Oh, let's go to your ship, Andrew – quickly!" she sighed. "Atticus is simply mad. Luckily, my teleporting ability is restored after a good rest!"

We introduced Avril to Calendula. Calendula smiled:

"I heard Atticus shouting something about your disappearance too. Well, Avril, will we teleport you to New York Neutral Shelter right now?"

"I think we must wait," Ellen said. "First, we haven't heard from this shelter for a long time. What if Rose Red doesn't live there anymore? Second, Avril has offered to help us with finding the Grimms."

"Great!" Calendula said. "So right now, all of us will go to Andrew's ship."

The air and the ground vibrated again, and in a second we found ourselves on a deck of a sailing ship. Andrew and Ellen's faces lit up.

"Thank you, Miss Calendula!" Andrew said. "So, everybody! Welcome to _The Winged Unicorn_!"

We applauded.

"Now, Avril, could you tell us more details about the world where the Grimms are imprisoned?" Laurence asked.


	7. In the Disc of Everafter

**This chapter brings crossover elements.**

**Chapter 7. In the Disc of Everafter**

Avril fumbled in her pocket and took out a DVD.

"That's the entrance to that world," she announced.

"What? It's just a DVD!" Esther exclaimed.

"Not a simple DVD, but the Disc of Everafter. Actually, it's just like the Book of Everafter, only it contains sci-fi, fantasy and fairy-tale _movies_ that weren't based on books – or were very loosely based on books," Avril said. "Does anyone here have a computer?"

"We have a laptop," Ellen nodded. She ran away and soon returned, holding a laptop in her hands.

"Good," smiled Avril. "Now, we just need to insert the disc, and I'll show you how to enter the world we need."

Andrew turned the laptop on and said:

"I think someone has to stay here. I can't leave my ship without guards for a long time, especially if the Disc of Everafter's on board. Someone has to be near the laptop in our world."

Esther sighed:

"I don't need to look like a coward, but I think I'll stay. I'm not a very good nurse, and apart from medical knowledge, I have no powers or abilities of yours. Also I don't know much about the Everafters – so…"

"No offense, but I can't leave Esther alone," Sidney said.

"Fine," agreed Andrew. "So it's Rose, Ellen, Laurence, Avril, Miss Calendula and me. I think we'll be able to somehow manage without you."

Avril inserted the Disc of Everafter and sat near the laptop. She clicked on the Removable Disc icon and chose "Search" from the options.

"Now, attention," she said. "Everyone who's going there, put your hands on the laptop."

"Good luck!" Sidney and Esther shook our hands and waved us goodbye as we put our hands on the laptop. Avril opened Search and typed the name of the file she wanted to find: PRMX2039.

"P-R-M-X-2-0-3-9? What can that be?" I asked.

"I've no idea," Avril answered. "I saw my father typing it, so…"

Before she could finish the sentence, the laptop's screen displayed "The search is complete", and suddenly I felt like being in a small tornado. I clenched the laptop with one hand and Andrew's hand with another and, I think, then I fainted.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself standing on a black hill. Enormous dark clouds were swirling in the sky, thunder was heard. Except for our small group, there was not a soul in sight. Only black hills and dark ruins of some town in a distance.

"Very welcoming," Ellen commented. Avril looked dumbfounded.

"What?" Calendula asked. "Is something wrong?"

"I… I don't know," Avril said. "When Dad and I went here, there were no ruins and no storms. There was a nice modern city with mild climate."

"Laurence, Rose, have you seen a movie like this in your human shelter?" Calendula turned to us.

Laurence and I shook our heads. Andrew, on the other hand, was in deep thoughts.

"I think I've seen something like that…" he murmured. "A trailer of this thing at least…"

"Can phone calls work between the worlds?" I asked, now totally confused. "Maybe we could call Sidney…"

Ellen shook her head. Nevertheless, I took out my mobile phone, but then cringed:

"Oh, it's discharged anyway."

Andrew abruptly turned to me, his eyes wide:

"What did you say?"

"My mobile phone is discharged," I repeated loudly. He looked like Newton who had just been hit by an apple.

"Hush!" he put a finger to his mouth.

"Well, you asked me to repeat, I thought you didn't hear me…" I whispered.

"Everyone, quiet! Try not to move! I know where we are!" Andrew said.

"Where?" all of us cried.

"Quiet!" he repeated. "We're in _The Matrix_."

"_The Matrix_? What's that?" I asked.

"To put it shortly, it's a movie where robots took over the world and used human bodies to get the energy for themselves," Andrew hurried to explain. "The human minds were put into a virtual reality called the Matrix. But some people were able to get into the real world, and the story's about how they struggle to free the rest of humanity. Well, never mind. The thing is that we can be noticed and killed by the machines at any moment."

"So let's find the protagonists of the movie and ask for their help!" suggested Laurence.

"It's not so easy, I think. First, I noticed that Avril typed PRMX2039. I figured out that 'MX' probably stands for 'Matrix', and 'PR' stands for 'Pre-'. As for the 2039, I'm sure it's the year we're in. Pre-Matrix, 2039! The plot of the movie was set in somewhere around 2199. So most of the protagonists aren't even born yet. Second, the free people hide deep underground," Andrew said grimly.

"Have you forgotten about me? I can track people down and teleport us to them!" Calendula exclaimed. She concentrated and announced:

"Five people are now two hundred feet below us."

"Excellent!" Ellen said. "Thanks a lot, Miss Calendula."

"On three, I'll teleport us. Be ready. One… two… three!"

Our surroundings vibrated, and soon we found ourselves in a relatively large room, full of machinery. A young curly-haired woman was programming a computer, a dark-haired man of about thirty years old was looking into the windows, a middle-aged couple were sitting in armchairs with closed eyes, and a small girl was obviously cooking something.

All of them but the couple in the armchairs jumped in surprise and gazed at us.

"What… Who are you?" the dark-haired man asked.

"We're from another world! We need help!" Calendula cried.

The man looked at Avril:

"I've seen that girl! Her father was talking with the agents!"

"Listen, I don't know a thing about you or the agents!" Avril said. "But I know something else. My father arranged a transportation a whole family of his captives into your world, probably into this Matrix of yours. We're searching for them. His captives are our friends."

There was a silence.

"Well, if you're not lying, you're on our side," the woman at the computer said. "Let's introduce ourselves, then we'll get Ed and Comet out," she gestured at the middle-aged couple who was still sitting with their eyes close, "and then you'll tell us the details."

"You seem calm about this," Calendula chuckled.

"We're used to adventures and surprises," the man laughed. "My name's Uno. Captain of this ship."

"Wind, operator," the curly-haired woman said.

"Daisy," the girl said, her voice still trembling with shock.

"Daisy is the youngest of us," Uno explained. "She's only twelve. But in fact she's very courageous."

Daisy's face lit up with pride. Meanwhile, Wind was calling someone on the phone.

"Ed, you need to get out," she spoke. "No, not a trouble. You'll see. Exit? Yes, I have one for you, you're just in front of it. Yes, the _Monert & Berry Fashion_ store. Yes, the one with the poster of the new Sabrina Grimm's movie. C'mon."

"Sabrina Grimm's?" we exclaimed in unison.


	8. The Grimms' Minds and Hearts

**Just before the real action begins… **

**Note: All actors mentioned here are fictional, the names come from my (or, in case with Sabrina Grimm, Buckley's) imagination.**

**Chapter 8. The Grimms' Minds and Hearts**

**Puck**

Robin Goodfellow was standing in front of _Monert & Berry Fashion. _He had absolutely no intentions of buying new clothes – he was perfectly satisfied with his current old outfit. No, he was secretly looking at the poster of _The Miraculous Show_, a new movie with Sabrina Grimm. He had a crush on the blond actress, though he didn't admit it even to himself.

Two young teenagers stopped to look at the poster too.

"Oh, Sabrina Grimm's adorable!" one of them squealed.

"Have you heard she's coming to visit New York this evening?"

"Really? Great! I'm getting her autograph."

"She won't give one. She has a terrible character – stubborn and selfish. The only person she trusts is her sister, Daphne. I've read it on her fan sites."

"Is Daphne an actress too?"

"Far from that. Daphne Grimm writes fairytales under the pseudonym of Thumbelina Golden Locks."

"Is she as lovely as Sabrina?"

"Not at all. Plump, dark-haired and childish."

"Oh, then we'll forget her, shall we? I'll think of a way to get Sabrina's autograph."

Robin sighed. He didn't know why these dull teens provoked so much jealousy in his heart. After all, he was a successful manager, and Sabrina Grimm was just a pretty (NO, ugly, he tried to correct himself) girl from Hollywood.

**Sabrina, Daphne and Basil**

Sabrina Grimm was brushing her golden hair. Her sister was sitting on the couch and watching the trailer of _The Miraculous Show_.

"You're awesome!" Daphne said, smiling, as the trailer ended. "The part where you rescue your kidnapped mother – oh! I almost cried. And the scene where you accepted that young detective's proposal – it was sooo romantic!"

"Thanks, Daph," Sabrina said, putting on blush. "And what's your new book about?"

"_The Reddish Hood. _The extended story of Little Red Riding Hood," Daphne said in a mysterious voice. "The details will be kept in secret until the book's published."

"Don't you fool me. I know you always tell me everything."

Daphne surrendered:

"Well, Sadie Rouge is a poor unloved and mentally unstable girl who runs away from an abusive family. The only creature that she can rely on is a small dragon. With his help, she tries to make up a new family of hers by kidnapping different people. But then she falls in love with a handsome fairy, and he helps her to restore her mind and frees her victims. Then, they marry and live happily ever after."

"An original thing," Sabrina said tactfully. She didn't like fairytales. "How did you come up with the idea?"

"I… I don't know," Daphne shrugged. "It just flashed into my mind… as usual."

"I envy you…"

"So, we're going to New York today, right?"

"Yes. I'd like to visit my hometown. And you'll protect me from fans… That was a joke. I can protect myself."

"Are you going to perform in anything?"

"Four times as Elphaba in _Wicked_, twice as Miranda in _The Tempest._"

"Why _The Tempest_? As I recall, you've been offered by some famous theatre to play Helena in _A Midsummer Night's Dream_. Helena is more of your character, as I think."

"First, I don't like Helena. Second, I always get an odd feeling during _A Midsummer Night's Dream_. A strong sadness of some kind."

"The same with me. But I don't have a strong sadness, just a small nostalgia-like thing…"

"Who knows what this can be?" Sabrina yawned. "Anyway, I've already signed the contracts. I will not play Helena in any case."

Her mobile phone rang.

"Yes?" she answered. "I'll be in a minute."

"Now, Daphne," she said as she put the phone away. "I'm gonna be late. We're filming the chase scene today."

"Good luck!" Daphne waved as her busy superstar sister stormed away. As for herself, she went to take their little (well, relatively little) brother Basil home from high school and prepare lunch for him.

**Henry and Veronica**

"Everybody thinks we're related to that actress," Veronica sighed as she poured the coffee into her husband's cup.

"Well, you do look a bit like her," Henry shrugged. "Still, shall we go to her performances?"

"Of course. She's a rather good actress. But I'll have to disguise myself to avoid the fans," Veronica smiled.

Henry's phone rang.

"Yes?" Henry answered. "Oh, sure. Yes, I'll be at the tomorrow's meeting. I know what to do! Alright. Fine. See you."

"Who was that?" Veronica asked.

"Our manager," Henry cringed. "Robin Goodfellow. An awful guy – though a good manager, I'm afraid. Doesn't know a thing about politeness and tact."

"Goodfellow – what a name!" Veronica laughed.

"Yeah, a very meaningful pseudonym. You know, dear, every time I meet this guy, I get the feeling of déjà vu. I've seen him somewhere. Same with Sabrina Grimm, but – well, she looks like you, so it's easy to understand. But where could I have seen Goodfellow before he was employed?"

"I don't know. Well, maybe he looks like one of your friends."

"Perhaps."

"Well, it seems we've decided to watch Sabrina Grimm's performance. I'll go and book the tickets – if there are any of them left."

**Mr. Canis and Uncle Jake**

Tobias Clay was a respectable old man. He wasn't very rich, but he had enough money in his pocket. He was kind, though he looked bad-tempered and grumpy. Despite he was in his seventies, he worked as a professor of history in a university. He and his nephew Jacob Growver were the authors of a famous research _The Descendants of the Brothers Grimm_.

The research was famous because it was pure nonsense – according to most historians. Mr. Clay and Mr. Growver claimed to have met a family of American descendants of Wilhelm Grimm, and that family told them some fairytale-like stories. The aim of the research was to convince people in the realness of fairytale characters.

Scientists laughed at Tobias Clay and Jacob Growver, but many simple people were their fans. They earned a lot of money, especially after a feature film was released, based on his research – _The Grim Grimm Life_, starring (what a coincidence) Sabrina Grimm herself.

Today Mr. Clay was sitting and rereading some critic's article about that film. He thought:

"_Sabrina Grimm's wonderful performance as Celia Growver, Wilhelm Grimm's descendant… _well, that's true, the girl has a talent… _Maureen Fior, a previously unknown teenage girl, gives us a naïve yet nice portrayal of Celia's sister Dinah – Maureen's a newbie in movies, but a promising one – _hmm, Dinah Growver was too selfish in the movie… _Ava Tinkerli, the former superstar, rises once again as Celia's Granny… _fiddlesticks! Granny was portrayed as a half-crazy fool who spoils her granddaughters – nothing like that in reality…"

Suddenly, the telephone (Clay had no mobile phones) rang. Clay's dog, Elvis, barked loudly.

"Yes?" the old man answered the phone.

"Mr. Canis? It's Calendula."

"What?" Clay whispered.

"Sorry, I mean…"

"Be quiet, Calendula! I remember you perfectly! But I don't want these who put me here to overhear us!"

"You remember? Oh, wonderful! Please, tell me the identities of the rest of the Grimms and then go to a telephone booth near _Monert & Berry. _I'll be there, along with Andrew Charming and Princess Rose Red, Mustardseed's daughter."

"Just tell me what happ…" Clay began, but Calendula hung up the phone.


	9. One Short Day Indeed

**Why did Calendula hang up the phone though she wished to know the Grimms' real identities? Read further chapters to find out.**

**Chapter 9. One Short Day Indeed**

"Oh my darling, I love you more than ever now!" cried Sabrina, raising her hands in a theatrical gesture. Her clothes were soaked in red, her golden hair was a mess, and she was lying on the sidewalk, breathing heavily.

"Cut! Excellent, finally!" Mr. Bowly, the director, clapped. "Monsieur Benois, now you appear!"

The filming began once again. Sabrina tried to stand up and walk away, while a handsome dark-haired man with an evil look on his face rushed to the scene and attempted to catch her.

"Joanne! You promised to marry me!" he yelled.

"You blackmailed me!" Sabrina shouted in response. "I'll never love you!"

They had a small fight, until the woman fell helpless onto the ground again.

"Dreadful!" Mr. Bowly groaned. "Again! Miss Grimm, you need to look more frightened!"

Sabrina Grimm and Armand Benois (another famous star) had to fight eleven times, until the director was at last satisfied with the result. That was the last episode to be filmed on that day, so Mr. Bowly allowed everyone to go.

When Sabrina dressed herself in normal clothes and made her way to her car, Armand suddenly walked to her.

"Can I see you tonight?" he asked gallantly.

"What?" Sabrina raised her eyebrow. One of the most handsome and talented actors who had previously been completely ignorant of her was asking her out? "Oh… I mean, yes, of course. But only after half past ten. I'm performing in _Wicked _today."

"Fine, would a quarter to eleven suit you?"

"Perfectly. Where should we meet?"

"I think in the _Delivery Restaurant_."

"I've never heard of it. Where is it?"

"It's the restaurant of Delivery, a five-star hotel. Wonderful cuisine, beautiful silverware, live classical music – everything one needs."

"Huh," Sabrina shrugged. "Perhaps you could show me the way to it?"

"Of course I can. I'll meet you at your theater."

They said their goodbyes, and Sabrina went to have a little rest at home before the performance.

"Daphne, Basil, I'm going out today," she told her siblings who were busy with Basil's homework.

"Going out? With whom?" Daphne smiled.

"With Armand Benois."

Her sister squealed in excitement, just as Sabrina had anticipated. Basil wasn't a fan of Benois and also was too busy with algebra, so he only nodded and mumbled something in congratulations.

"Oh, Sabrina!" Daphne ran to the woman and hugged her. "He's simply dashing! I'm glad you are…"

"I'm not glad actually," Sabrina interrupted. "I accepted just to calm down the yellow press which is desperate to find me a boyfriend. I don't like Armand at all, and, besides, he has already been married and he's still seeing his ex-wife."

"Well, maybe he'll quit it now that he has fallen for you," Daphne said hopefully.

"I hope he won't and he has _not_ fallen for me," Sabrina shivered. "I hope we'll just go out today, the yellow press will declare him my boyfriend and fiancé, then, sooner or later, he'll marry some other actress again, and all the gossip will die out and I'll get a reputation of a spinster."

**In the evening**

"One short day in the Emerald City…" Sabrina hummed as she collected the flowers she's been given into several vases and washed the black dye off her hair. She had been almost deafened with all the applause, and she suspected she'd get stuck in a mob of autograph-seekers once she got outside. Then she remembered Armand had promised to meet her and wished he would come in some cheap car to avoid a double crowd of fans.

She put on her fur coat and walked outside, not wanting to be seen. Of course, she was seen anyway. Several reporters ran to her, holding microphones.

"Miss Grimm, how do you like your performance of Elphaba?"

"Miss Grimm, what is your fee for that performance?"

"Miss Grimm, do you like movies or theater best?"

"Miss Grimm, what is your newest movie about?"

"I have no time. I'm meeting with Armand Benois," Sabrina snapped. She was always very harsh on fans and journalists, that's why many of them began to hate her after meeting her in real life.

As the woman walked to Armand's car she noticed in a distance, the reporters looked at her, discouraged. But then they realized the meaning of her last phrase and started to muse on Sabrina and Armand's supposed engagement.

"Hi," Sabrina smiled as the driver started the engine. Armand gestured to the reporters:

"Oh, my."

"Yeah, I would have given anything to get away from them," Sabrina sighed.

"Would you?" asked Armand, glancing at her in an odd way.

"Sure!"

"Oh, here we are," the actor said as the car stopped. Sabrina looked at the building in front of them. It was made of dirty bricks, with dark cracked windows and a simple blue plastic sign "Hotel Delivery".

"Is this a five-star hotel?"

"Ehm," Armand said. "It's for your own good, Miss Grimm, so I suggest you remain quiet and don't fight."

The driver – a middle-aged yet strong man – got out of the car, bound Sabrina's hands with a sting of rope and led her to the entrance to the building.

"Wait!" Sabrina shouted. "What are you doing?"

She tried to struggle, but Armand came to the driver's assistance, and together they managed to get her inside the "hotel". Sabrina yelled for help, but no one seemed to notice.

As they were leading her up a stairway, she was thinking hard.

"Why would they want to kidnap me? To demand money? Armand certainly has more than enough money, it's unlikely he would risk his life for more… Is it a political act? But I've never took interest in politics. What if it's a melodramatic thing – such as jealousy? But I have no boyfriends… and Armand couldn't possibly overhear the remark I said to Daphne and Basil, when I told them I don't like him…"

Her captors threw her into some room, where several people were standing, as if waiting for her. She knew one of the people a little – it was Tobias Clay, a historian whose book was made into a movie several years before. Sabrina began to suspect her kidnapping had something to do with Clay's disapproval of _The Grim Grimm Life'_s script.

A blond-haired man in his late forties stepped forward, grinning:

"Brina!"

Sabrina stared at him, too shocked to speak.

"I'm your Uncle Jake, don't you remember?"


	10. Two Grimms With Memory

**The POV is Rose Red's. The action is set mostly before the previous chapter.**

**Chapter 10. Two Grimms With Memory**

Wind, the operator, programmed our "digital selves" so that we would be able to go inside the reality of the Matrix. Meanwhile, Uno spoke to us:

"We have a spy of ours in the Matrix. He's an actor, Armand Benois, and he told us that he knows Sabrina, Daphne, and Basil. Sabrina's really a Hollywood actress, Daphne's a writer, and Basil's still a student. They remember they are siblings, but they obviously don't remember the rest of the family. Also, Benois said that a Tobias Clay published a research some time ago about the Grimms' descendants."

"Tobias Clay? It's Mr. Canis!" Andrew chuckled. I recalled that Andrew's father and Mr. Canis had been constantly scuffling in the past.

"Oh, you know him? That means he does remember something, though I have no idea why!"

"We must find him first," Calendula suggested. "Then, Armand can bring the rest of the family to your exits – as an actor, he has quite an influence in the city's society."

Wind gave Calendula her phone and found out Mr. Canis's phone number in the Matrix. Calendula called him, introduced herself and told him to come to the exit at _Monert & Berry Fashion_. Then, she hung up the phone.

"It's to intrigue him," she explained. "Besides, I don't want whoever rules the Matrix to overhear us either."

"Your digital selves are completed," Wind interrupted.

"Great!" Uno grinned. "All of you will go, right? And myself, Comet, and Ed to help you in case something happens. Lie in these armchairs."

"You don't have holes in your necks, that's why we'll have to use electric signals to bring you there," Wind mumbled more to herself than to us.

"Holes in our necks?" I whispered, confused, as I settled myself in the armchair.

"They're to feed the people's bodies in the Matrix intravenously," Andrew quietly explained from his seat. I shivered with disgust.

Suddenly, I felt something peculiar, almost painful, in my brain, and in a second I found myself standing near a fashion store in a beautiful modern city.

Mr. Canis and Jake Grimm (I recognized them as I had seen their photos) was standing not far from us, along with their dog Elvis.

"I can't believe it!" they cried as they rushed to us. Elvis followed them.

Calendula hugged them (even Elvis) and gestured to us:

"Laurence, Robin Hood's son. Princess Rose Red, Mustardseed's daughter. Prince Andrew Charming, also an Air Force captain. Princess Ellen Charming, his sister. Princess Avril, Atticus's daughter – she's on our side. And these are Uno, Ed and Comet – the people who escaped the Matrix, I mean, this reality."

"Pleased to meet you," Jake said. "So, you mean we can escape this thing?"

"Yes," Uno nodded. "We'll get you out of here. But we have to discuss some matters with our spy Armand, and as we wait for him, we'd like to know how you haven't lost your memory."

Mr. Canis smiled faintly:

"When the robots took me and spoke something about my brain, I broke the jar with the Wolf and let them erase the Wolf's memory. The beast sprung free and entered a mosquito, which was then killed by the robots, so the Wolf is no more. I pretended to have lost my memory, and they gave me a new one and inserted me here as a professor of history. Jake was made my nephew. As I talked with him, I realized his memory wasn't wiped away clean; it was buried in his subconscious thoughts."

"After some exercising I restored it completely," Jake finished. "We've waited for help, because the only member of our family whose Matrix identity we know is Sabrina."

"Armand is going to make enquiries about the rest of you," Ed assured him. "Ah! There he is!"

A black limousine stopped by our side. The back door opened, and I felt my heart skipping a beat. The most handsome man I've ever seen stepped onto the sidewalk. He had coal black hair, a pale complexion and eyes that looked like blue diamonds.

"Armand Benois. Nice to meet you," he said in a beautiful deep voice. Color rose to my cheeks as his eyes looked straight into mine.

I barely heard Uno introducing us to Monsieur Benois. Only when I realized what he'd think of me staring at him, I was able to draw my attention away for some time.

"I'll tell you what," Armand suggested after Uno told him a brief overview of our adventures. "I'll bring Miss Grimm to Hotel Delivery first, since I'm acquainted with her, it will be very easy, and then somehow I'll trick her siblings so they'll get there too. After this, we'll think of a way to find the rest of your relatives."

"And what next?" Andrew asked. "Do we have time to restore their memory?"

"We'll do it the harder way, using our programs written to affect a human brain," Comet said. "First, we must get everyone out of the Matrix. Then we'll figure everything out somehow."

"Today evening we're filming some scenes of _The Miraculous Show _that involve both me and Miss Grimm. After that, I'll ask her out and instead bring her to Delivery," Armand said.

Ask her out… Despite it was going to be a trick, I felt a pang of jealousy.

"Rose?" I heard a whisper. "Rose? Are you alright?"

Andrew.

"Yes…" I mouthed.

"You look rather feverish," he remarked worriedly.

"No, it's okay. I just… am… excited to meet… the famous Grimm family."

Andrew smiled and nodded:

"So am I."

By that moment, Ed asked Andrew and Jake to discuss some technical details of the Matrix. I sighed with relief: I managed to forge a reason for my brightened eyes and blushed face after all. To avoid awkwardness, I turned my head to Ellen, who was playing with Elvis, but I still kept glancing at Armand now and then.

Suddenly, Armand's iPhone rang. He frowned, but answered:

"Claudette! I'm busy… What?.. No, today I'm meeting Sabrina Grimm… Yes, it's very funny… What?.. No way… Oh, fine, I'll talk to you later… Goodbye."

"That was Claudette, my ex-wife," he said apologetically. "She still thinks I owe her another €3000 after the divorce."

He had been married? I bit my lip to suppress a sigh. Well… no wonder… he's so handsome… and he's also rich…

"Now, let's get ourselves to Hotel Delivery," I heard Uno's loud voice. "It's our main base inside the Matrix."

Armand glanced at the screen of his iPhone.

"I must go, sorry. I'll be late for the filming, and old Bowly – that's the director – demands strict punctuality from everyone."

"See you in the evening, then. Ed will drive you to Delivery, as usual," Uno shook hands with Armand, and the latter got back into limousine. In a minute, it was making its way down the street. I looked at it, feeling dreadful when not seeing its dazzling owner.

"Rose! We're going!" Laurence pulled me by the elbow into Ed's big gray car, where everybody else was already sitting.


End file.
